Didi plunges 30% in premarket trading after China cracks down on ride-hailing app days after $68 billion US IPO

Didi Chuxing is China's biggest ride-hailing app.

Reuters

• Didi shares plunged as much as 30% in premarket trading Tuesday after China cracked down on its app.
• Didi Chuxing listed on the New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday in a $68 billion IPO.
• Chinese authorities are taking a tough line with the ride-hailing app maker and other tech companies.
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Shares of Chinese ride-hailing app maker Didi plunged as much as 30% in premarket trading on the US stock market on Tuesday, after China cracked down on the company only days after its blockbuster US initial public offering.

Didi's American depository receipts then pared some of their losses to stand 20.99% lower at $12.27 as of 06.15 a.m. ET. US equity markets will reopen on Tuesday after Monday's 4th of July holiday.

Chinese authorities on Sunday ordered app stores to remove apps from Didi Chuxing, the country's biggest ride-hailing company, from their platforms. The Cyberspace Administration of China cited serious violations in the collection and use of personal data.

The crackdown came less than a week after Didi's shares started trading on the New York Stock Exchange in one of the biggest IPOs of the last 10 years. Didi hit the market on Wednesday, with shares closing at $14.14, giving the app a market capitalization of $68 billion.

Uber, which is the second-biggest US holder of Didi stock, fell 1.37% in premarket trading.

Read more: POWER PLAYERS: These 9 Uber executives are fighting the company's increasingly messy gig-economy policy battles

Shares of Full Truck Alliance and Kanzhun, two Chinese tech companies who also recently listed in the US, dropped 16.04% and 10.49% respectively in premarket trading. The declines came after China expanded its clampdown to put new restrictions on the two companies on Monday.

"China is cracking down on big tech, but the decision to remove [Didi's] app from domestic platforms appears to be timed for maximum impact and embarrassment," said Neil Wilson, chief market analyst at trading platform Markets.com.

"China's Communist Party is bristling at the number of Chinese companies listing in the US this year, but there is a genuine concern at the heart of this - regulators are not impressed at the way Didi and other Chinese tech companies handle data."

Axel Springer, Insider Inc.'s parent company, is an investor in Uber.

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